All posts tagged animal behavior

Scientists and regular folks alike have long believed that humans are the only species capable of planning ahead into the distant future—the “mental time travel” that makes saving for retirement possible. Although the idearemains controversial, evidence is mounting that other species may also be able to plan for the future.

New experimental results show that the Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) will sort different foods into the variety they want to eat now and the kind they want to eat later – suggesting that they may deliberately be planning ahead to satisfy a future preference. (Peanuts now or raisins later? Or raisins now and peanuts later?)

Earlier research had shown that Western scrub jays (Aphelocoma californica) appear to store food in order to provide for gratification at a later time. Similar forms of mental time travel have been documented in chimpanzees and orangutans—and, more recently, in black-capped chickadees, the twitchy little birds that seem to a casual observer to be too hyperkinetic to plan ahead for more than a few seconds. Read More »